The daily morning Astorian. [volume] (Astoria, Oregon) 1883-1899, 1887-12-31
DoLPH on RIVERS AND HARBoRs.
AsLarge Appropriation Necessary for tht
Columbia River.

WASHINGTON, Dec. %. - Senator
Dolph, of Oregon, who is on the COM
mittee which has the river and harbor
bill in charge, has devoted much at
tention to the matter. A correspon-
dent asked him to-day to express his
views, which he did as follows: The
report of the local engineers in charge
of the works for the improvement of
rivers and harbors not having been
presented. l have no means to know
what the aggregate is of the amounts
recommended by them for the i'm
provement of rivers and harbors for
the next fiscal year. The estimates
of the local engineers were reviewed
and many of them put down by the
chief OF engineers, who In his annual
report states that the amount that
can be profitably expended in the
next fiscal year on uncompleted works
in progress mentioned, being over
$50 in number. is S40,041, ,996.T. The
amount estimated by the secretary OF
war and submitted to congress by the
secretary of the treasury for the con-
struction, completion, repair, pTeser-
vation and survey OF rivers and har-
bors is S12.000,000. An additional
sum for gauging the waters Of certain
rivers, the examination OF the south
pass of the Mississippi river and 9th
er examinations and surveys and In
cidental expenses. amounting 10 S2l3,-
40, is asked. Estimates OF the local
engineers for river and harbor I'M
provement for the government work
at Wilmington, California, was Sl25,-
600; for Humboldt harbor and bay,
$500 600; for Coos bay, S2O0,000; for
the mouth of the Columbia, Sl.2OO,-
600: for Yaquina bay, S2O0,000; for
the Cascades, 100000. The chief of
engineers has cut down the estimate
| for Humboldt harbor and bay $780,
600, and the estimate for Coos bay
S120,000. At the mouth of the Co
lumbia river, to enable the govern
ment to secure a sufficient and relia-
BILE supply of stone of suitable quality,
the construction of a tramway from
the jetty TO the mouth Of Young's
river, appears to be necessary, which
will require an outlay of at least SS0,-
600, and the work is OF such n char
acter that il can only he economically
pushed with large appropriations,
The force OF the waves upon the eX-
posed portion of the work will be
tremendous and there is a liability to
a stoppage of the work, a deep chan
mel being cut 10y the current at the
end of the breakwater greatly in
creasing the difficulty and cost of a
further prosecution OF the work. The
large amount asked for by the chief
of engineers could be economically
expended in a single year upon this
| work.
The Cascades canal and locks which
when completed will open up the Co
lumbia river and make it navigable
through the Cascade mountains, so
that steamboats, can pass without in
terruption from Portland to The
Dalles, is a work of great Importance
to the people of region as large as
New England, New York and Penn
sylvania. No benefit will be derived
from the work until it is completed
With sufficient appropriations il
could be finished within two years
and it would be economy for the gov
ernment to appropriate the money re-
quired for the purpose. Large ap-
preparations would enable the gov
ernment to make contracts for the
work and save inevitable loss, aris-
ing from the damage by high water
in the Columbia.